Twelve stages
to opening day.

Format, area & catchment

Which format, which town, which catchment. Demographics, competition, and for a specialist grocery whether the community you intend to serve is actually there in sufficient numbers.

Note. This is done before any site is viewed. A specialist range in the wrong catchment is a general convenience store with poor buying terms.

Entity formation

LLC or Corporation in the United States, private limited company in the United Kingdom, with registered agent or office, tax identifiers and constitutional documents.

Note. The company takes the lease, holds the licences, employs the staff and carries the liability. Retail attracts consumer-facing liability that should not sit personally.

Site search & survey

Units identified and surveyed on observed footfall, catchment, competition, frontage, delivery access, power capacity and lease terms. Existing stores audited on accounts, EPOS history and licence record.

Note. The longest stage, deliberately. A shop lease is the least reversible commitment in any of our ventures and we would rather lose months than take a poor site.

Licensing assessment & application

Alcohol licence prospects assessed at the specific address, then application prepared and lodged. Tobacco and lottery registration, food hygiene registration where a counter is planned, and planning or zoning confirmation.

Note. Alcohol is often a substantial share of convenience revenue. It is granted at the authority's discretion, sometimes after a hearing, and can be constrained by local policy. We assess prospects before you sign, not after.

Lease negotiation & completion

Heads of terms, solicitor review, break clause, rent review, repairing obligations, permitted use, and consent for signage and any plant.

Note. The break clause is the single most valuable term after the rent. A long lease with no exit is a liability that outlives the business.

Range & supplier build

The range designed to the catchment, with a core convenience list and the specialist lines that differentiate. Wholesaler and direct-import accounts opened, terms negotiated, and a second source identified on critical lines.

Note. Range is designed before shelving is ordered, because the range determines the refrigeration and the refrigeration determines what the unit must supply.

Fit-out & equipment

Electrical supply and any upgrade, refrigeration, shelving and layout, counter and till point, flooring, lighting, signage, security and CCTV.

Note. Sequenced so that power and refrigeration are resolved before anything cosmetic is bought. Reversing that order is how fit-out budgets overrun.

Systems & product file

EPOS installed, the product file built with cost and retail prices, promotions configured, stock control and supplier ordering connected, banking and card acquiring set up.

Note. The product file is the asset that makes remote management possible. Built badly, nobody ever knows which lines make money.

Recruitment & training

Store manager first, then shift staff. Contracts, right-to-work checks, payroll registration, age-restricted sales training, and licensing qualifications where the role requires them.

Note. The manager is the most important hire in the venture and the largest single operational risk. We start early and we plan for a deputy from the outset.

Procedures & compliance pack

Opening and closing procedures, cash handling, delivery receipt and stock rotation, refusal register, waste and date-code process, incident reporting and the compliance calendar — handed over in editable form.

Note. Documented procedure is what stops a store depending entirely on one person's habits. You own every document at handover.

Stock & pricing

Opening order placed against the planogram, goods received and merchandised, retail prices set against margin targets, and shelf-edge labels produced.

Note. Opening stock is a large cash outlay and the easiest place to over-order. We buy to the planogram, not to fill space.

Soft opening & stabilisation

Open at reduced hours to test the till, the rota and the delivery cycle, then extend. Thirty days of close monitoring on sales mix, waste and shrinkage, then transition to the standing back-office desk.

Note. The first month tells you which lines actually sell in that catchment, which is never exactly what the plan assumed. The range is corrected then, while stock levels are still low.